■^ 

 1 



e room, 



but alfo for the flics to fettle on, and to prevent. 



SILK WORMS OF North-America. 296 



' Thefe pods I placed as I had the others, before my gar- 

 ret wuulow, where the fun might fliine on them, as fooa 

 as It arofe, and a great part of the forenoon. When I ex- 

 peded the flies we'e near coming out, I tacked coarfe ck:)ths 

 upagainfl: the windows on the infide, not only to darken 

 th -" 



them, in attempting to make their efcape, from beating 

 their legs and wings to pieces againft the glafsj which I 

 found to be the cafe lafl: year, and which it is probable, 

 prevented their copulating. 



Maj 1 6. Three of my cocoons produced each a fine large 

 fly of tlie brown kind, the fame as thofe of lad year. 

 The two following days txvo more flies made their appear- 

 ance, and one of the eldefl: begaa to lay eggs, which not 

 being impregnated, dried up and yielded no increafe. 



Maj 19. One of the males that came out on the i6th, 

 copulated w^ith the female that was produced on the iSth. 

 They continued together about twenty-four hours; a com- 

 mon cafe with moft of the infed: tribe, which lay a great 

 number of eggs at once. And fomething fimilar may be 

 obferved in fomc other animals. 



May 



ggs which look 



ri.L. 



ed plump and fine. Though I had now feveral flies, yet 

 this was the only one from which I had increafe. 



Jtme 2. The laft of my flies died,.all expiring regularly 

 as they came out. The period of their exiftcnce is fliort, 

 feldom exceeding nine or ten days, though fome of the 

 females lived to the age of fourteen or fifteen, as I found 

 by one I had lafl year. 



June 3. The eggs that were impregnated began to hatch 

 and produce worms, to which I prefented for food the 

 leaves of our common mulberry; but they did not feem 

 fond pf them. I laid before them feveral other kinds of 

 vegetables, and obferved that they feemed beft plcafed 

 with the alder. 



7' 



and producing young worms 



The. eggs continued hatching 



ft 



June 8.- 



